Posts Tagged ‘LA Auto Show’

The Scion iM is here! The lowercase i, uppercase M is an ALL NEW CAR for the US market. From the looks of the concept renderings, it's a front wheel drive, four cylinder, four door hatchback (or five-door, depending on your school of car terminology) with European compact styling. We just posted up photos of Scion's new iM on the @MOTORMAVENS Instagram feed, and it has been getting mixed reviews from our audience... but we like it!
According to our good friend Jeff Lushe of compact car modding specialist Micro Image, the new Scion iM is basically same thing as the Toyota Corolla Auris, which was already released in Japan a few years ago. Read more...

Check out the 2015 Subaru WRX from its official world debut at this year’s LA Auto Show. The new WRX is a more powerful and better handling version of Subaru’s iconic high-performance Impreza WRXmodel.Powered by a new 268-horsepower 2.0-liter direct-injection turbo BOXER engine, the 2015 WRX debuts the model’s first six-speed manual transmission and a new, optional performance automatic transmission, the Sport Lineartronic with two manual modes.

With its bold new wide-body sedan design and expanded performance envelope, the 2015 WRX marks a major evolutionary step for the rally-bred performance car that has become a global automotive legend. For 2015, the Subaru WRX employs a new torque-vectoring system that supplements the standard Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive system. Torque vectoring allows for improved cornering speeds and handling. The new and stiffer chassis, larger brakes, performance-tuned suspension and a driver-focused interior remain integral to the WRX performance character. The new powertrain also yields higher fuel efficiency than the previous model. (more…)

Need yet another reason to visit the LA Auto Show? How about a chance to see the new Bentley Continental GT3 up close and personal?! Based on the fastest ever road car to bear the Bentley badge (the Bentley GT Speed), the Bentley Continental GT3 is an FIA approved concept race car with a 2013 racing program that's currently in development.

Signalling Bentley’s return to the racetrack for the first time since its historic sixth Le Mans victory in 2003, Continental GT3 remains faithful to the company’s founding motorsport philosophy of developing racing cars from their road-going counterparts. Read more...

It's that time of the year again! The 2012 edition of the annual LA Auto Show is here, and automotive enthusiasts will be flocking to the LA Convention Center to see all the new makes and models from the world's leading car manufacturers, along with some special historic vehicles on display that showcase the heritage of some of the bigger automakers! Read more...

The 2010 LA Auto Show is currently in full swing; and just in case you didn't get a chance to attend the show yourself, I should clue you in on the hot topic that all the manufacturers seem to be extremely excited about - hybrid technology and electric cars.

While not all of the hybrids and electrics looked extremely exciting, there were some manufacturers that had project cars that caught my eye. Let's have a look! Read more...

We showed a snapshot of the new 5Axis Scion xB at the SEMA show back in November… here’s a closer look at some of the details of the car, as shot real “quick style” with Antonio’s Canon S90 point&shoot pocket camera.

What we really like about this Scion xB is the fact that it’s the first time we’ve seen anyone make the newer Scion xB look really, really cool. Think about it – DJ equipment, dancefloor and strobelights aside… we think if Troy Sumitomo, the man behind 5Axis, made those flares, wheels and fender mirrors available for your everyday Joe Schmoe Scion owner to buy… well, we’d see a lot more second gen xBs on the road that actually look cool.

After all, we can definitely picture a guy who owns a fully built KP61 Toyota Starlet with TRD N2 works fender flares driving a widebody Scion xB like this as his daily driven commute car, even with the automatic transmission. We think these flares and wheels would be a hit… (Antonio was already trying to figure out what other cars those wheels would fit on) but what do you guys think?

:: Travis Hodges

PS: Don’t you think this xB would fit perfectly in the DJ Hero booth at a big video game convention, like E3?

In my previous post about Porsche’s new Boxster Spyder you may have noticed that this was the car that greeted me as I entered the hallway of the Porsche gallery. I didn’t include it as a part of the other story because I was so enamored with this beautiful machine, I wanted to allow it a brief moment in the spotlight – alone.

In the early 60′s, rules governing sports cars were modified and automakers had to follow suit. Of course if you ask me, I don’t need rules to make me modify a car! Haha. The frame of the earlier 718 RKS was widened, the wheelbase lengthened and the rear swing axle suspension was replaced with the more modern wishbone. In doing this Porsche created the RS 60 and 61. The beauty above is the open air version of the 718 RS 60, 61. The 718 W-RS.

One of my favorite things about this particular car is that in 1963, Edgar Barth won the European Hill climb with the W-RS. Not only is this car outstandingly sick looking, it has a serious race winning history as well. Today, Barth’s 240bhp modified 718 W-RS wouldn’t beat anyone racing up Pikes Peak , but DAMN you’d look good going up, down and around it. I’m thinking more like a road trip to Vegas. Maybe with the weather like it is right now, I should be driving down the New Zealand coast where it’s summer. Mmmmm warm weather…..

After attending several unveilings at the LA Auto Show, I wanted to grab a prime spot for the world premiere of the 2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder. I hiked across the LA Convention Center to the Porsche hall. The atmosphere, as you can see from the above picture, was going to be very different from the "bull pen" vibe of the other automotive showings. Porsche had a gallery all to themselves. As I approached their hall, I was digging their entrance. Going for the full dramatic effect, the 718/8 W-RS Spyder was on display at end of the hall/main room entrance to show off Porsche's race and design history - as well as highlighting the evolutionary pathway which led to the inspiration behind the design of their newest model Boxster. Read more...

It seems that everyone and their mother were talking about the Lexus LFA online and at the LA Auto Show today. However, while walking the floor this morning, I just couldn't take my eyes off this really hot, curvy new model in the Mercedes Benz booth. I was overcome with the feeling of instant attraction when I spotted her from across the room, and naturally began gravitating towards her, like Scooby Doo and Shaggy when they're in the presence of submarine sandwiches. She was sexy and sophisticated, and she had me thinking about her all day; her initials were SLS.

If the car in the above photo looks familiar to you, it's because it reminds you of the most gorgeous, curvy (and rare!) Mercedes Benz collector's item from the 1950s... the 300SL Gullwing. The red car in these photos is the 2011 Mercedes SLS AMG Gullwing Roadster, which was the first car ever to be designed and built completely by AMG. Mercedes originally signed off on the Gullwing project with AMG way back in 2006, but the car would not be deemed ready until its pre-production mules had gone through years of secret endurance testing all over the world, including the Green Hell itself, Nurburgring's North Course. (Nordschleife). Read more...

Okay, well… I hope I’m not going to get into too much trouble for this, but I just couldn’t help myself. Ever since I first saw the spy photos of it online, and ever since I first laid my own eyes on it at SEMA, I’ve been absolutely crazy about the Lexus LFA.

Come on… what’s not to love? It’s the epitome of sexy, futuristic, high tech automotive styling and technology… and it’s a Lexus, which means it’s bound to be the most reliable of the luxury supercars. The only problem is, it costs $375K, which leads me to believe that there won’t be any Lexus dealerships letting me test drive one anytime soon. So what do you think a devoted Toyota/Lexus owner (and hyperfan) like me would do when I get a text message saying, “the Lexus LFA just arrived at our warehouse. Come down ASAP if you want to check it out in person.” Naturally, I dropped everything I had to do that day and made my way down to the [secret location] so that I could get a sneak peek at the car in person.

Apparently, the LF-A was temporarily brought to a top secret secured storage facility to keep it safe in between its appearance at SEMA and its big debut at the LA Auto Show this upcoming week. When I saw the car at SEMA, they had round the clock security guards around the car that wouldn’t even let you touch the car, much less sit in it… so when my friend who works at the warehouse texts me and says, “if you want to see the car, come down now cause nobody else will be here,” you absolutely KNOW I’m gonna jump at the chance!

So here’s my first actual encounter with the Lexus LF-A. You’ll have to excuse the crappy video quality, because I was unprepared and I only had a point and shoot pocket camera with me when I went to see the car. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do. This car excites the hell out of me. (So you’ll have to excuse how completely unprofessional I am in this video! LOL. I was a bit excited. This video isn’t at all professional automotive journalist-like. But hey… I couldn’t help myself.)

We did a kind of ghetto edit on the glass door of the warehouse so the storage location could remain secret and my friend’s identity could remain secret. Okay, enjoy the video!

:: Antonio Alvendia

PS: You’ll have to excuse the ridiculous music that was blaring inside the car. I didn’t know how to turn off the radio! The thing was so complicated with all these buttons and stuff, and I couldn’t even turn down the volume of the radio for some reason.